The same root produced Old English blac "bright, shining, glittering, pale;" the connecting notions being, perhaps, "fire" (bright) and "burned" (dark). The usual Old English word for "black" was sweart (see swart). According to OED: "In ME. it is often doubtful whether blac, blak, blake, means 'black, dark,' or 'pale, colourless, wan, livid.' " Used of dark-skinned people in Old English.

Of coffee, first attested 1796. Meaning "fierce, terrible, wicked" is late 14c. The color of sin and sorrow since at least c.1300; sense of "with dark purposes, malignant" emerged 1580s (e.g. black magic). Black face in reference to a performance style originated in U.S., is from 1868. Black flag, flown (especially by pirates) as a signal of "no mercy," from 1590s. Black dog "melancholy" attested from 1826. Black belt is from 1875 in reference to districts of the U.S. South with heaviest African population; 1870 with reference to fertility of soil; 1913 in judo sense. Black power is from 1966, associated with Stokely Carmichael.

Example Sentences for black out

And if troubles had been black out West, they was black and blue in N'York!

But there was no easing of the pain that threatened to make him black out at any second.

When they reached that point, yelling, Barry raced his black out of range of all except the wildest chance shot.

Take my penny an go buy an oyster,thatll help get the black out.

Then black out, and gallery green focus for dance, changing to ruby at cue, and white floods at chord off.

A lumber boat, with two very tall masts, was emerging gaunt and black out of the fog.

The fire was black out, and the mill still grinding away at nothing in particular.

The fire was black out, and somehow things wore a more cheerless look than I had expected to find.

A stream of noxious vapor rushed out of the opening, causing him to black out.

Its bare walls rose gaunt and black out of the ground, not out of a heap of tumbled moss-grown masonry, or covered over with ivy.